30th Senior Four-Man Team

Detweiler, Lutz, Robinson and Whitman win

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MOHNTON, Pa. — Downpours disintegrated a Senior Four-Man Team scoring record signed by the likes of Marlin Detweiler, Chip Lutz, Scott Mayne and Byron Whitman in July. The washout, however, didn’t discourage the foursome from reuniting for a second try Monday at a pleasant LedgeRock Golf Club (par 72, 6,154 yards).

Detweiler, Lutz, Whitman and Lu Lu Country Club’s John Robinson, Mayne’s replacement, carded a 12-under-par 132 to take the 30^th Senior Four-Man Team. The event originally took place on July 18. Severe storms prompted GAP officials to postpone it before the morning wave’s completion, thus erasing the Detweiler and company mark.

In Take One, Lutz, the nine-time reigning GAP Senior Player of the Year, registered eight birdies and an eagle on his own ball, leading his team to an astonishing 17-under-par 127. He proved just as lethal Monday, with six birdies on the card.

Technically seven if his five-footer on No. 6 (par 4, 356 yards) counted.

“We all just watched Chip. The over/under [for his birdies today] was six,” Whitman, 60, of Reading, Pa., said. “We tried to remind him of his quota.”

“A little local knowledge was helpful,” Lutz, a LedgeRock founding member and three-time men’s champion, added.

In accordance with his star stature diagnosis, Lutz initiated the team’s red journey by pouring in an eight-footer for birdie on No. 3 (par 4, 337 yards). Robinson, a Lu Lu Country Club member, and Whitman doubled down on the aforementioned No. 6: a 60-yard wedge to 12 feet for the former, a 75-yard wedge to 11 feet for the latter. Lutz’s five-footer didn’t matter.

“We were actually looking for a ruling to see if we could count three birdies there,” Detweiler, 63, of Akron, Pa., said jokingly.

The team continued its ascension toward leaderboard rulership by logging four birdies in consecutive holes. Powerful 3-woods from Lutz and Robinson on the par 5, 489-yard No. 8 paved the way for laudable up-and-ins. On No. 9 (par 4, 324 yards), Whitman, a Berkshire Country Club member, sunk a left-to-right breaking 20-footer for birdie. Lutz followed with a 10-foot slider of his own. The two also joined birdie forces on the par 4, 264-yard 12^th hole: drives into the ditch, pitches eight and six feet, respectively. Lutz also birdied the next hole, a daunting downhill/uphill par 5 measuring 509 yards). A wedge 84 yards to 10 feet told the story there.

The team’s final birdie came courtesy of Whitman. On No. 16 (par 4, 286 yards), the reigning Chapman Cup (Gross) champion knocked a lob wedge 52 yards to eight feet. Lutz preserved 12 under with a spectacular save on the difficult No. 17 (par 4, 369 yards). A runaway, downhill chip shot for birdie suctioned into rough — mere inches from the green’s collar.

“It was clean enough at the back of the ball that I thought, ‘If I pop this thing up, it will jump right out.’ Son of a gun, it just went right into the hole,” Lutz, 64, of Reading, Pa., said. “That was a stroke-saver for sure. John’s eyes were like saucers when I made that.”

‘I had a downhill five-footer that I didn’t have to putt,” Robinson, 61, of North Wales, Pa., added.

Robinson received a text message from Whitman four days ago, asking if he could join the team in Mayne’s absence. Uncertain of Take Two’s status, Lutz texted Whitman last night, asking if he filled Mayne’s vacancy.

Whitman, after all, represents patient zero when it comes to the team’s existence. He initially spoke with Ron Weaver about forming a team. Weaver mentioned Detweiler, a Lancaster Country Club member who finished as runner-up in the 2012 Brewer Cup at LedgeRock, as a starting point. Detweiler obliged — then suggested the next recruit.

“He offered to give me money. I held out for a little bit,” Lutz said.

“Marlin suggested to offer Chip some bitcoin. And then bitcoin went up too high,” Whitman added.

Change of date. Lutz team still money.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 274 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.